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Alaska Airlines reveals fate of Virgin America

Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines light blue mood lighting will replace Virgin’s deep purple (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

After months of speculation about the fate of the Virgin America brand and product under Alaska Airlines ownership, Alaska’s management has finally decided: The Virgin name will gradually disappear, but many of passengers’ favorite Virgin features will migrate into Alaska’s aircraft – and vice-versa.

Alaska’s brand and logo will creep into Virgin’s fleet and facilities over time, with the Virgin identity phased out by 2019. But the combined mainline fleet of Alaska’s 737s and Virgin’s Airbus planes “will adopt many of the brand elements that Virgin America enthusiasts love.”

Here are the details of the plan offered up in a TravelSkills interview with Sangita Woerner, Alaska Airlines’ VP of marketing, and Andrew Harrison, chief commercial officer, who said that their goal is to create “a warm and welcoming West Coast-inspired vibe.” Richard Branson couldn’t have said it any better 😉

Alaska Airlines Havana

Alaska Airlines nonstop from LAX to Havana arrives at about 5 pm- just in time for sunset (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

FLEET: The fleet of the combined mainline carrier will be Airbus/Boeing for at least the next six years. Alaska plans to take ten Airbus A321 NEOS over the next two years. But this arrangement may not last forever. A spokesman told TravelSkills: “We are working through a process with both Boeing and Airbus to arrive at a decision later this year as to whether we will remain all Boeing or move forward with a duel fleet strategy for future purchases.”

Alaska Airlines new first class seat – SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE PHOTOS (Photo: Alaska Airlines)

SEATS/UPGRADES: Virgin’s eight-white-leather-seat first class section will be retired. In its place Alaska will install 12 first class seats. Virgin’s Main Cabin Select (premium economy) product will also go away, replaced by 18 of Alaska’s Premium Class seats. The new first class seats will have 41-inch pitch, footrests, personal power outlets, cup holders and more seatback storage space, while the 18-seat Premium Class section will have 35-inch pitch. Alaska has no plans to move to lie-flat seating on transcon flights. And upgrades will be more generous, Alaska said: “With 50 percent more premium seats being introduced to the Airbus fleet, elite loyalty members will enjoy the most generous complimentary upgrades in the industry. Mileage Plan MVP Golds and above are upgraded to First Class or Premium Class 75 percent of the time…Complimentary upgrades to first class on Airbus aircraft (something Virgin never offered) will debut for the first time ever in late 2019.”

See bottom of this post for slideshow of Alaska Air’s new look coming in 2018>>>

Alaska Airlines’ new rooftop lounge will be located in the same structure as SFO’s new observation deck (Image SFO)

LOUNGES: At San Francisco International’s Terminal 2, Alaska Airlines may construct a completely new rooftop Alaska Club, which could include an outdoor deck. Looking at the renderings from SFO, I’m guessing the new Alaska Club will be on the opposite end of the structure that will contain the airport’s new observation deck, expected to open in 2019. In the meantime, Alaska is working on getting Alaska Lounge members access to American’s Admiral’s Club on the main floor of T2. (Right now, Alaska Airlines is in the International Terminal at SFO and club members use the Cathay Pacific lounge.) There will also be a new Alaska Club at New York JFK, but its location is TBD. Alaska also promises “refreshed and expanded” airport lounges by early 2019 in Seattle, Portland and Los Angeles.

Don’t miss: SFO’s new observation deck

Alaska Airlines IFE

Alaska Airlines allows passengers to watch movies on their own devices, or on tablets it rents onboard (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

INFLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT: Sangita said that Alaska is leaning toward pursuing a “bring your own device” strategy for inflight entertainment. She said passengers who don’t have their own device can get one onboard, distributed by flight attendants. Without seatback entertainment systems, Virgin’s famous (but kinda irritating) pre-flight safety video will also go by the wayside. Effective immediately, passengers on its Boeing aircraft can now stream Alaska’s in-flight entertainment catalogue of 200 movies and TV shows to their personal electronic devices at no charge, making permanent an innovation that started as a temporary promotion in January. This will be extended to Airbus aircraft via their Red entertainment system in August of this year.

CONNECTIVITY: Alaska will also install high-speed satellite Wi-Fi in its 737s starting late next year, followed by the Airbus fleet. “Both fleets are expected to be fully satellite-equipped by the end of 2019,” Alaska said. Whether or not Gogo will continue to provide inflight Wi-Fi for Alaska will be determined by this summer. Alaska said it will also extend its in-flight “Free Chat” feature to the Airbus fleet in August.

Alaska Air

Pay $10 for healthy “signature fruit and cheese plate” like this on Alaska Airlines (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

FOOD/DRINK: Virgin’s popular seatback food/drink ordering system will likely go away. “We are currently exploring a new way of doing this via passengers’ mobile devices instead,” said Sangita. Instead of unlimited free food and drink, Main Cabin Select will switch to the Premium Class policy of a free boxed meal and unlimited beverages. By June of this year, Alaska said, first class passengers will be able to pre-select meals before departure, and by early 2018, main cabin flyers will be able to prepay for meals before departure. Pre-ordering meals will be available for Airbus flights “sometime in the future.”

See this! Richard Branson’s letter to the Virgin America team 

Virgin America

The Virgin America look: black leather & mood lights. ( Photo: Chris McGinnis)

MOOD LIGHTING: Virgin’s famous deep purple mood lighting will fade away and be replaced by Alaska’s cool blue, which Sangita said is more “modern, warm and welcoming.”

LOYALTY: Virgin’s Elevate program will disappear in 2018– all members will fold into Alaska’s Mileage Plan program. The best part about Mileage Plan is that it still rewards a mile flown with a mile earned, unlike other programs (including Virgin America’s) that reward based on how much money you spend. Alaska’s program will become even more generous with upgrades as more first and premium economy seats are added. Plus, Mileage Plan’s intricate web of partnerships provides access to 900 destinations worldwide. For now at least, it appears that Alaska will stick to its mileage-based program as a marketing tool that separates it from competitors. Will it last? Who knows…

So what do you think? If you are a current Virgin America flyer, will you stick with Alaska Airlines? If you fly another carrier, will you be willing to make the switch? Please leave your comments below. 

Here are some images of Alaska Air’s new look coming in 2018:

What do you think of the blue? Please leave your comments below.

 


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Comments

  1. It was logical the Virgin America brand would be retired entirely at some point. A generic interior design with a token nod to mood lighting is about exactly what I expected.

    The cold blue and white interior is ugly. The purple mood lighting was just part of a colorful aesthetic which carried through the terminals and the planes that wasn’t so boring and white.

    Flying is such a painful and frustrating experience, and I’d be happy to never set foot on a plane, but I started doing more traveling when Virgin America popped up and provided a better option.

    I’m sorry to see Virgin America fade away into another big generic national carrier with an overly complicated point system I will never enroll in. But still, I wish Alaska the best with the boring corporate thing because it seems to be working for them.

  2. I agree. It seems that VX’s program was good if you were primarily doing short hops. Given that I am based on the east coast the VX network (and the AS one now) only helps me for my trips out west (which is usually once–but sometimes twice) a month. With the $ based programs I have to spend over $1,000 on AA/UA/DL to get close to what I used to earn on a transcon trip…all of which means that AS might be worth looking into. That is, as long as AS miles are as easy to redeem on partners as claimed.

  3. If the seat pitch gets shorter, I am gone. If they take off Anchor Steam and Lagunitas from the drink menu, I am gone. If they mess with the Virgin credit card benefits, I am gone. More than willing and able to switch to JetBlue.

  4. Marketing got this wrong. Virgin was the more generic term to cover flying all over the place – Alaska, means Alaska. Alaska is *snore* boring and Virgin made flying fun again. I hope Branson starts this all over again. Loyalty is a real thing and if Alaska screws this up – I will PURPOSELY not fly it for one more flight. Time will tell.

  5. Virgin’s one other classy move – if you were seated in the bulkhead, you boarded in an early group so you actually has space over your seat for hand luggage….. since you can’t have anything at your feet.

  6. Virgins “order when you’re hungry or thirsty” plan is sooooo wonderful – I will miss that. Their flight attendants were a key part of this working, as they were at your seat quickly. So it’s not just the concept, but the service that made VA stand above the crowd. I also enjoy the inflight entertainment that is provided….. having to try to figure out if your device will work, you’ve got the right app loaded, etc….. I’d rather have the screen on the seat back. And ice blue is NOT warm, welcoming, or trendy!

  7. “Alaska is working on getting Alaska Lounge members access to American’s Admiral’s Club on the main floor of T2.” Alaska Lounge members flying AA or AS already have access to all Admiral clubs. Although the AA SFO lounge is not convenient if flying AS, a Lounge member could clear security at t2 and visit at Admiral lounge before heading to the international terminal and flying AS.

  8. For *me* the Alaska jury is still out, but I’m not ready to give them the boot. Like you, I’ve been Elevate Gold and Silver (my wife has only achieved Silver), and I have some healthy skepticism about how the final merged product will be. That said, I am (apparently) one of the very few people who don’t see the advantage of a lie-flat seat when flying across the US *unless* I’m on a red-eye, so I’m not too concerned about Alaska’s lack of lie-flats.

    What DOES bother me is the dismantling of IFE and on-demand food ordering. I cannot count the number of times I’ve caught a live sports event on VX flights, or music or whatever while I work. Sure, I can download a movie or a season of a TV show, but it’s clearly not the same . . .

  9. So, Frank, let me tell you . . . *obviously* this is a case of YMMV, but it all depends upon where you fly. My wife and I have been able to fly using my Elevate points multiple times across the US — mostly to JFK, but also DCA, and BOS. I never had to worry availability or status: if a seat was open, it was mine. It’s only MSY that has eluded me, but that was clearly because VX doesn’t fly there (until later this year). I was also able to fly SFO-LHR r/t using VX Elevate points on VS.

    But my road warrior days are behind me. Most of my *paid* VX flights have been up and down the West Coast (including LAS), whether personal or business, and I try to only pay for transcontinental flights if it’s for work. That said, it’s much easier to make and maintain elite status on segments that way than on miles when most of your flights are short-hauls. Top level on Virgin takes 30 segments . . . the same 30 on AS gets you their lowest level status. Equivalent to VX Gold takes 60 segments on AS . . . doubt I’ll ever make it, let alone to AS’s top level, which takes 90!

  10. Presented in the FWIW mode, in re: “Are Virgin elites better off to convert NOW to the Alaska program, and book/earn miles at the per mile flown criteria or the 5 points per dollar spent as now? Do the mileage plans fully merge as of 1/1/18 or another date?”

    What I have found so far is that there are some better deals available on points with VX, and sometimes it’s better with AS (even on VX metal), IF you’re flying Main Cabin. If you’re using points to fly First Class, so far I’ve found the best deals converting points to AS and booking the Virgin flight on the Alaska website using AS points . . .

    So far, I’ve transferred points from VX to AS on an as-needed basis. But I shall be converting all of my Elevate points over to Alaska *prior* to 1/1/18. I don’t want to risk losing that 1.3 conversion rate if “they” do it for me.

  11. “Verge of collapse”? Pretty strong strong word choice that betrays the spirit driving most of the Bay Area. Most businesses struggle from the start and most airlines were losing money until the price of oil tanked. Virgin America exhibited the same spirit as many of the tech companies in the Bay Area: push the industry forward, sometimes aggressively (see Uber, one of your favorite companies) iterating quickly and often. They experimented with new ideas (routes) and abandoned the ones that didn’t stick. Many tech companies know how difficult it is to disrupt traditional industries; Virgin America should be commended for the work they did to push the industry forward. They struggled as any young company would have (especially in an industry whose profitability is almost exclusively dependent on the cost of fuel), but is it fair to say they were on the “verge of collapse”? I don’t think so. They would have fought on like any of other scrappy companies around the Bay Area.

  13. Now that you mention it, I kinda’ agree with the comparison between American’s FC and Virgin America’s economy.

  14. I’m a big Alaska Airlines fan, but I’ll never forget the bloody, cold reindeer meat entree they served on a flight back in the 80s. Not good.

  15. I became a fan of Alaska Airlines when I had to fly with my dog as excess baggage and Alaska was very reasonable. I liked the service and attention they gave regarding my dog. I am ever hopeful that Alaska extends this service/policy to the expanded fleet: It will give me, and many other large dog flying passengers, an excellent travel option. Please, please, please, keep with the Alaska Airlines pet flying policy and fees!

  16. I’m generally a fan of the “bring your own device” philosophy, but I hope Alaska won’t charge to borrow one for the duration of the flight. Qantas’s refurbished A330s have straps and a USB port built into the headrest to secure and power your device and they automatically provide a device to each seat (stored in the seatback pocket). The devices are generally iPads which are so much faster and easier to operate than built-in systems (and don’t waste legroom with A/V equipment).

    Had to chuckle when Sangita called Alaska’s proposed cabin “more modern, warm and welcoming”. There’s nothing more welcoming (or modern) than the icy blue of glacier water from a stuffy, old-fashioned airline.

  17. You’d most likely have to collect your bags at your initial port of entry into the US, at which point you could retrieve whatever electronics were stored away.

  18. Now that the uk has imposed this same ban on electronics in the cabin, people flying on BA flights from the Middle East, onto connecting on to Alaska will have already had their iPads stowed in the hold way before they get onto Alaska. Yes true that Passengers originating in the USA will not notice. I live in the U.K. And often fly Chicago to Seattle, on an Alaska codeshare flight that could well carry passengers affected by the electronics ban.

  19. “Verge of collapse” is a bit hyperbolic, Chris. While Virgin America’s recent financial success could be attributed in no small part to the price of fuel, CASM was among the lowest in the industry (comparable with Alaska) and Q4 2016 was the most profitable quarter in the airline’s history. While it would have been tough for Virgin America in the next economic downturn/fuel price spike (as it would for every airline), I’m pretty confident a go-it-alone strategy would have worked for the foreseeable future. Not that I’m knocking the Alaska deal—it’s also a good plan for both the customer and for the thousands of frontline VX employees. Just stings to lose the only California-based airline, and one that changed the industry for the better.

  20. Virgin America restarts nonstop service between SFO and Orlando later this year on June 14.

  21. Anyone know what will become of Virgin Visa perks? I really enjoy no cancellation fee when using Virgin Visa. I don’t think Alaska has the same deal – can anyone confirm?

  22. I actually heard on a call in show a Silicon Valley tech worker from India suggest the ban was actually aimed at people like him and his family because the Gulf airlines connections are more desirable to those types of passengers.

  23. Alaska needs to work to keep me. Virgin had class. Both airport and “in-flight team” were pleasant, honest and keep you up to date. Southwest may not be as good but they beat out all other airlines including Alaska. Flying should be fun, not torture. If traveling on business I want to be able to update those I am meeting if delayed. Southwest beats Alaska (and Virgin) on frequencies and number of California cities served. Hard to beat Southwest’s cancellation and re-schedule policies. Don’t like Southwest for trans-con, this is were Virgin stands out both FC & economy. Last FC trip on American was worse than Virgin’s economy, yes, really. With Mint, maybe better staff, would think of flying Jet Blue over Alaska. Alaska should keep food/drinks on demand.

  24. I totally agree that this is a sly dig at the ME3 airlines, and it’s significant that the UK has excluded their airports. It’s a snide anti-competitive move.

    Even so, I’m not sure that carrying on mobile devices is a no-no. People might well have said the same about bottles of waters and swiss army key rings a few decades ago. Heck, 50 years ago you could carry a firearm onto a plane.

    Also, on-plane internet and entertainment could be a viable replacement for your device on flights, if needs be.

  25. Ok, I’ll agree that restrictions tend to increase over time. However, I don’t think your comparison to liquids and pocket knives is valid. Those are a minor inconvenience. Banning electronics would completely re-shape the travel industry. Virtually everyone travels with a laptop or tablet. If virtually everyone starts checking a bag, airport baggage system would fall apart, they just can’t handle that volume. Delayed baggage would increase exponentially, which is a huge problem when people have their laptop in their baggage.

    Anyways, by most accounts, this electronics ban has less to do with safety and more to do with a trade war on Middle East airlines that are competing unfairly (in the eyes of the government). I strongly doubt that the US government plans to impose a trade war on its own airlines LOL

  26. That’s true. AS has always been a well run business. VX, not so much. I still remember an old cranky flier graphic showing an airplane engine shredding money describing how VX runs their business. I wonder if VX could have survived the next major downturn had they not been bought.

  27. Maybe so but I still preferred the old SWA plan where you got a free flight for every 8 paid flights.

  28. Flatbeds are expensive and reduce the number of premium seats. There is clearly a market for them but also for a cheaper First seat that isn’t lie-back. Especially west-bound, I don’t need a lie-flat and so don’t want to pay for one.

  29. There was a time when that might have been said for scanning and searching passengers at all. We use to be able to carry on fluids and pocket knives too. The general rule seems to be that restrictions are only getting tighter as the bad guys develop new ways of evading our security procedures.

    So there is a legitimate concern that if an airline does away with seat-back screens and instead relies on everyone having a mobile device, that that might backfire later. And not all of us have mobile devices or, if we do, don’t want to carry them on board.

  30. Love Alaska and Virgin a close second so this is all good. The Alaska staff, in every area of work, is hands down the best.Hope that doesn’t change and that they continue with the Biscoff cookies and good coffee.

  31. I am an Alaska and Virgin fan, so am unconcerned with the changes. I only fly a few times each year, so with retirement looming and a move to Mexico, I probably won’t fly as much within the US. Will turn my attention to Mexico and Central and South America, where Alaska doesn’t fly. Good luck with your changes.

  32. The ban is for flights to/from the Middle East. I’m quite certain that Alaska (with zero widebody planes) has no plans to fly to the Middle East. Your comment is moot

  33. Most of the changes make sense except the transcon seating. NY to SFO / LAX is a different market than PDX, SEA, … They should create a separate, dedicated fleet (A320 please!) with flatbeds, in the same way UA, AA, DL, B6 have done for these markets.

  34. Not just that, but the supply chain needed to make Virgin’s amenities possible on a larger scale would have never been feasible. I’m sure these decisions were made a while ago…but Alaska wanted time to slowly integrate the brands. And the Eskimo still has a lot more character than other American carrier…

    That said, Alaska’s core vision of the future appears to me to be quite unique and yes, quite a relief to anyone living west of the Continental Divide.

  35. Thanks for the comments, folks! Keep em coming. One thing to keep in mind: Many of the elements of the Virgin experience that we will miss were expensive. As a result, Virgin was on the verge of collapse for nearly its entire short life. It dropped routes as quickly as it added them– and many of those routes were extremely thin and unworkable for business travelers like its once-per-day SFO-Chicago flight. We might not be getting everything we want with Alaska, but at least we are getting a solid player that will keep the competition on its toes, especially in California.

  36. Every time I investigated VX’s frequent flyer plan after friends and co-workers talked about how great VX was (I have been flying transcon 10 to 20 times per year for the past 10 years), it always seemed far inferior to AA/UA/DL/even B6. If there is a win here, its the decision by AS to adopt its old-school program. That is unless you are buying a lot of medium haul tickets 2 to 6 days out on routes without a lot of competition. But most people who spend their time on these types of forums are better off under the old distance-based programs.

  37. I always thought that when boarding a Virgin America flight, the mood lighting and music reminded me of a strip club or dive bar. Red and purple, all the shades down. I welcome the blue. Not so sure about the bring your own ipad/notebook movement (to watch movies) now that there is a ban on them in the cabin for some passengers.

  38. There has got to be a way AS can keep some of VXs premium features like seatback TVs and a great first class experience on a subfleet of some aircraft used for premium transcon routes. All the legacies have something like this and my guess is it generates enough of a revenue premium or they’d have cut them. And since transcon routes are a big chunk of the combined AS/VX flying, that subfleet would be big enough to justify. Heck just keep the Airbus fleet as that subfleet and rebrand it as Alaska Elevated or something like that. Or is their CEO so focused on cost and commonality that he’s overlooking that premium pax do not like nickel and diming? If this story is accurate, I’d expect most of Virgin loyalists will reflect to B6 or a legacy. The two I know have already gone to B6

  39. Going from 8 seats to 12 in first, resulting in 41″ seat pitch, suggests that Alaska will be competing with the lowest-common-denominator offerings of AA, UA, and DL. Bleah!

  41. I don’t think you understood my point. I didn’t say whether the changes are positive or negative. Chris said that many Virgin features are being kept and migrated to AS planes. That’s just not supported by the facts. Which is why I said he seems to have been tricked by AS’s smooth talking.

    You’re gonna compare getting out of your window seat, climbing over two other sleeping passengers to walk to the galley and ask for some food with Virgin’s unique feature of browsing the menu and ordering right from your seatback tv? Come on.

  42. You still have mood lighting. It’s just blue, which I like more than purple anyway. But, that’s just personal taste. Hopefully, AS steps up it’s game in terms of on-board catering. VX blows them away. But, you can always get food on demand. It’s just called walking to the galley and asking for food. I would think that going from Elevate to Mileage Plan is a step up for most everyone, so that’s a positive, OTOH, I ‘ll miss the seatback TVs. It is nice to watch something on the tube while you are also working or playing video games on your computer or other personal device.

  44. Very few people come out ahead in dollar based mileage scheme. It penalizes people who plan, even those who fly in a premium cabin. I’ve never come out ahead earning 13 miles per dollar than I would if I just got the mileage for the flight.

    It should not be called a mileage program anymore.

  45. New lounge at SFO T2. I’m guessing that means that AS/VS is gonna get T2 and AA will (eventually) move somewhere else (new T1 perhaps).

  46. The first paragraph says “many of passengers’ favorite Virgin features will migrate into Alaska’s aircraft”. The entire rest of the article contradicts that.

    Virgin’s name: Gone. Virgin’s seat plan: Gone. Virgin’s mood lighting: Gone. Virgin seatback TVs: Gone. Virgin’s loyalty program: Gone. Virgin’s on-demand food: Gone (but might come back in a different form, eventually, maybe)

  47. I still don’t understand why “a mile for a mile” is considered almost universally better than mileage based on expenditures. I tend to buy premium tickets and appreciate the fact that I earn more miles for doing so. I also appreciate that revenue based mileage reduces the impact of people who use up free/upgrade capacity by earning miles on the cheap with inexpensive mileage runs, etc. On the flip side, if I were in the other camp, I would personally appreciate the “mile for a mile” policy. In choosing one model over another, I think an airline signals which set of customers it values more. Customers can make their airline choices based on these signals. It would appear that most airlines now signal that they value more the higher spending customer. Clear policies help drive clear customer choices.

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